Up at 0800 this morning, and, bearing yesterday in mind, set off immediately for Welwyn Garden, and just
before Hatfield, at about
0810, became so tired that I could hardly continue. Stopped at a lay-by, and, with dreams
of tortises and hares, grabbed a half hour sleep, waking much refreshed and with the sun to
my right. Arrived within an acceptable time of 0845, and Richard suggested I made the other
catalyst with TiCl₃.TiCl₂Br and Al(C₂H₅)₂Br, which I did, though I was still as dead tired as ever.
Nevertheless plodded on, and nothing all too violent seemed to stand in my way, apart from
Owen wishing me happy birthday - I think I rather caught him by surprise by telling him it
was Ananada Krishnan's. Got the stuff going well before lunch time, and then had a bit of
time to wake up and wonder what that so-called Al(C₂H₅)₂Br actually was. Off to lunch,
after which I did little - back to read my Book of the road, to work out whether I wanted it
or not, and then up to the analysts to see how much alkyl they would need. Turned out they
would need 50 cc, so decided that I would give him the whole flask and get them to give back
as much as possible. After consulting Richard, decided not to get Peter Clegg's
countersignature, and was just about to take it up
when Sonny rang to say
a) Bev was peeed off with him, and wanted to thumb
to Winchester in the company of some
bloke, b) he was worried about his car misfiring and (oh yea, c)), he was peed off with me
for choppig up his chin - remarkable how calm and almost nonchalant he already is about it.
Tried to right up W.V. Derrington for him, but could not find the number. Took the stuff up
to the analysts and ordered 6 stirrer magnets, then hung around for a while until I could
ring Bev up, which I did, about 1640, and spoke until 1700. Sonny has told her about
sleeping with Shari - good lad - but he has not told
her the circumstances - silly bugger - and so Bev thinks he had her, because he wanted to,
when nothing could be further from the truth. He also is apparently always on about Shari
in his letters, which hardly helps. Then home, had makan, and off to the laundrette, not a
moment too soon, and then, after bringing them back, off
to Maidenhead to get my diary
from Paul, and got sidetracked - off for a drive
to Marlow
and Henley, and late back, so
decided a) to stay the night b) not to go to work tomorrow. Late to bed.

Up round 1030 this morning, after various thoughts at earlier time
when Paul suggested that, were we not soon to
get a move-on, the cleaning woman would come round and see us. It eventuated that she
already had, and when I got up she saw me and later came in and gave a rather sarky opinion
on the likes of Paul and me. Accordingly we got out as quickly as possible, along with 9
milk bottles which were worrying her, and then headed off to London, as we couldn't think of
anything better to do. Arrived in London only shortly before lunch, owing to a medium-sized
traffic jam in Knightsbridge with 5
of the original 9 milk bottles. Over in the direction of Strand, with primary intent to
find Australia house, but were unsuccessful, and so rang up ICI and GRI
from Charing Cross
station and told each others company that the other had gutrot and (blatantly obvious at
1215) he would not be in today. Then further along the Strand and got some free colour film
from Dixons, then turned back and headed
for Carnaby Street, which took us
a considerable time, but eventually found the Carnaby Market, and Bruno downstairs selling
wigs and theatre tickets, and obviously prospering - he took in £100 yesterday, and God only
knows what it must be like on Saturdays. Seemed please to see me, “the photographer who
took all those wonderful photos of the group in Germany”. Might be able to get me some more
work some time. Then off - he was really too busy to talk for any length of time - and to
the Science Museum to see how things were there, and they have quite an enormous collection
of things - was particularly intrigued by the wierd and wonderful but unlikely methods of
motor travel developed in the early 20th century as well as the great collection
of Daguerreotypes
and Calotypes in the photographic
section. Then off back to Maidenhead,
just missing the rush hour, and back to Paul's place, where we had some tea and porridge,
after the preparation of which we discovered Paul had no sugar, so down to Tescos to get
some at 1815, and just managed to convince them that it was urgent. Then messed around with
Paul's bike - after clearing and setting the plug, it fired all right. Off still later to
buy some fish and chips, and after eating these I went home and got everything packed, and
had a much-needed bath, then early to bed.

Watch stopped sometime in the middle of the night, and I woke up at some indeterminate hour
after dawn, and eventually - a rather inspired guess - got up at round 0745, and got
everything more or less sorted out with my packing, etc, and off to work, arriving actually
early for once. One think I notice about Richard Cooper is that he leaves me a lot more to
myself than John did - doubtless I am a bit of a problem for him anyway, and he is only too
glad to get me out of his hair. In to the fume cupboard area (it is about time I gave that
particular part of the lab a name), and decided that it would be a good idea to get hold of
some ethylene, so over to the high
pressure labs and saw Tom Kiff, who unfortunately had one, so back with the thing to the
fume lab (how's that?), and set up yet another low pressure polymerisation. Then back
outside and sat down, wondering outside the tea break how best to waste the day. Came to no
conclusion by lunch time except that I was hungry, so off to lunch, and then to the car to
create some sort of order, and return the track setting guage and axle stands, then back to
“work”, which consisted of lighting a pipe, observing that nothing much was happening in the
reaction pot, but nevertheless enough to make it worthwhile continuing with the reaction, so
after finishing my pipe rang up Clive Higgs, who was apparently a little annoyed that I had
not confirmed with him in writing that I was no longer working in Welwyn Garden City, but who
nevertheless said he would have a Green Card ready on Tuesday. Then did a bit of thinking,
and decided that, in view of the lovely weather, it would be a shame to waste my time in the
lab, so finished (albeit scantily) my Easter tidy-up, and off at 1600 hrs, bumping into Alex
Harness on the way out. Got some tobacco from home, then off in the direction
of Watford, where I decided to see if I
could get hold of a new spot glass for my car, and it eventuated that I could, so bought
one, and back out, having a tangle with a rather officious traffic warden in the process,
with the result that I nearly got booked. Then on, and
picked Paul up at 1815, and on
to Southampton (where I had arranged
with Shari to leave my car), and
avoided Reading by a quite
neat way which I must remember in future. Arrived in So'ton at about 2000 hrs, and then
left the car and into town by bus, just connecting with the ferry
to Cowes, where we made an equally good
connection with Jenny and Malcolm, who had come
to pick us up. I rather like Malcolm, even if he is rather quiet - not really the sort of
bloke I had expected him to be. Still, same old home-coming. Prince [dog]
remembered me, and seemed more pleased at my home coming than at Paul's. Had makan, talked
a lot, and of to bed in Jenny's room - Jenny is in Paul's.

Up early enough this morning, though already the usual matinal sounds were well under way.
Down to find Ann about and about to go and spend the day
with Lesley,
and Jenny studying in bed - things really don't
change much here, do they? Then gave Jenny my book to read, and off
with Paul to breakfast. The more I look at this
happy domestic scene, which had me so blissfully enraptured 3 years ago, the less it appeals
to me. I have changed since then - hardened, matured, or become more cynical - or maybe the
three are all the same thing, though I don't feel like thinking much about it right now.
Jenny must have eventually got up, but in the meantime Paul and I were wondering how to
spend our time and coming to very little conclusion about same. the weather was once again
glorious - I hope it stays thus while Dad is here - and so went of for a walk to the bottom
of the lane, examining a brand
new Mini Traveller in the process,
talking to Paul about points to watch when buying a Mini Van, why to fit a sump guard, etc.
Then back, sat in the caravan for a while and wondered about the pros and cons of buying a
caravan to live in. Then inside, where Jenny and Malcolm were in the courting stages of
love-making, and had makan, after which there was some argument as to who should do the
drying up, and in particular as to why Paul should not help. Then back to the lounge room
and read for a while, then Jenny and Malcolm off for a drive in the car, and Paul and I had
nothing to do, so off to sleep. Woke round 1600 hrs, and, on instigation from Mrs. Hallett
off alone with Prince up onto Brading
Down with Jenny's Edixa
and Meritar, and took a few photos.
Arrived back down again, just in time for tea, after which we watched TV until supper time
and everybody went to bed except Paul and I. After a bit of talking, Paul discovered I had
not seen his photos taken in Germany, so set up the projector and watch. Then to bed and
spoke till late about various classifications of animal life.

Up somewhat later this morning, after listening at some length
to Jenny and Malcolm revelling in the fact that
the former was now 19, and down myself to wish her a happy birthday. Then came, as ever,
breakfast, albeit a little delayed today, and then I thought it would be no bad idea were I
to put some distance between myself and Greenwood farm, so waited
until Paul's father came back with the car, but
he would not let Paul take me to Cowes, as
the clutch was slipping - which sounds very much like an excuse to me. In any case, the
long and short of it was that I had to find alternative means of transport, and decided to
travel by bus or thumb, whichever were to prove the quicker, and this proved to be the
thumb, which nevertheless took until 1200 before I was at
Ryde Esplanade with a ticket
to Southampton in my pocket. The
crossing to Portsmouth was quite
uneventful - the weather was idyllic apart from a strong wind, and I sat on the sun deck the
whole time. Then bought Autocar in Portsmouth, to discover that an Imp had won my class of
the Mobil Economy run with 53 odd mpg [5.3 l/100 km], which I do not consider
impossible for my car, and a Mini had only done 43 [6.5 l], which I would almost
certainly have bettered. Also read
that Lucien Bianchi is dead - sad
day. Felt sadder about that than anybody
except Jim Clark a year ago. Changed
at Portsmouth and
Southsea, and sat watching the weather and people until Southampton, where I walked to
the Mc.Gibbons, which took me 35 minutes, but did not noticably tire me.
Found Jim trying to make an inlet gasket for a
rather wierd-looking Canadian motor mower, which he eventually did, and in the meantime was
offered a much-needed lunch, after which I took my leave and set off along remarkably empty
roads to Tun. Wells,
making good time and arriving at about 1830, to
find Sonny in his new flat, which is very nice
and spacious. Bev is with him, and they have been
spending an idyllic easter, even though Sonny's car has broken down and is causing him some
worry. Had some makan, during the cooking of which Sonny and I went off to Westwood to get
some stuff for him, and met Jo's boyfriend, who told me
the Old Grey Mare cylinder
head I showed him was a carter,
which I know damn well means sump. Nevertheless a nice bloke. Had a not very inspired
makan, then off to the Bull for a drink, after which we went down to look for Sonny's friend
Graham to get hold of an amplifier, but nobody was home. Back later to the Bull for some
off-license beer - they did not even realise I had been gone. Late to bed.

There is something about an alarm clock which inspires terror in the heart of a man who
still physically needs 4 hours of sleep, especially if it is loud. Up at 0515 as a result
thereof, and can testify as to the loudness by the fact that it
woke Sonny
and Bev as well. Got up and ready in quite worthwhile
time, and were actually off by 0545, as opposed to ETD of 0600. Got some petrol the other
side of Hildenborough, and then on
through Bromley and along Sonny's South
Circular Road detour, which deposited us pretty smartly
at Earl's Court, whence it was quite
easy to arrive at the beginning (and therefore the end) of the M4,

Seen from 2016, this sounds like a seriously sub-optimal way to get there. The South
Circular Road went there directly. But surprisingly that's exactly one of the routes that
Google Maps suggests.

and so arrived at Heathrow at only 0705,
as opposed to Dad's ETA of 0810, which was subsequently modified to 0830. Eventually he
arrived, and shortly after 0900 we were under way, and true to predictions I terrified a Dad
frozen by the recent warm spell, by taking the first roundabout hard. Back pretty straight
to Tun. Wells, talking
(as usual - this is very reminiscent of any pickup from any airport) 20 to the 12, and spoke
about, inter alia, the Asia trip and the 1972 marathon, both of which interest Dad more than
he let on. Got home, and he was intent on showing his birthday card (“May the bluebird of
happiness ....... crap all over your birthday cake”), which, he claimed, only an Aussie
could do — until I pointed out that the card had on the back “Lithographed in Canada”. Then
had a bite to eat, and Dad got tired, and Sonny and I set off to pick up Graham's amplifier,
diverging on the way to Flimwell to see
if an absent Ernie were there, and then back with the amplifier to the flat, where yet slept
Dad. Later on he and Bev (also dormant) came to, and we contemplated the evening.
Eventually off to the Curry Inn for a very worthwhile makan, whence I emerged positively
bloated, and then off, after looking for a closed funfair,
to Fletching and the
Griffin, where we had a drop, then on to
the Piltdown Man for another, then home,
having no little trouble with the car in the process - felt like fuel starvation, such as
failing pump or similar, but when we tightened up the ignition coil lead, it stopped, so
happily home to a late bed.

Today it was Dad who woke me at some advanced hour, expressing the opinion that he could not
understand how Sonny and I (who were together in
bed) could sleep so long. Got out of bed after observing that we had divided things so that
I had the bedclothes and Sonny the bed, and out to observe the wonderful weather and
contemplate a trip to Brand's Hatch
today. Dad told me of his journey down to the Caumas [?], then we had a token
breakfast, and Trev came along to hear of the fate of Sonny's car, and to offer a few
constructive criticisms and suggestions as to where we could get the thing fixed up. Then
set off for Brands, and after a while the car started playing up as it had last night, and
so we pulled into a garage on the A20 and examined things in more detail, and took the top
off the carb and cleaned things out - there was quite a bit of grot in the float chamber -
and cleaned out the jets.

One design mistake on this car was the lack of a fuel filter and jets at the very
bottom of the float chamber, where in particular the secondary jet could get clogged. I
have had to clean it out several times on two different vehicles.

While at it, checked the outflow from the fuel pump, and this seemed the likely cause -
output was very weak - but decided that this was due to an airlock, and decided this was
gone after leaving it idling for a while.

That doesn't make sense. How would an air lock form under these circumstances?

Changed our minds about 100 yards out of the place when it started all over again. Headed
back for Tun. Wells, a
very long and laborious task, and ended up using gravity feed, which unfortunately was not
helped by the float needle spring, so I ended up blowing into the oil can with the petrol in
to maintain sufficient pressure - nothing can describe the trouble we had. Had makan
in Tonbridge, then back and fitted
Sonny's [electric] SU pump to my car, which made a lot of rattling, bus certainly
delivered enough fuel, and so proved that the fault lay in the pump. Off with Dad primarily
to wash the car, but the place was not open, so then off for petrol, so Dad started telling
me about his visit to a psychiatrist
in Singapore called Wong, who
apparently helped relationships between Mum and Dad no little bit.

My recollection was that some months before we had decided that my mother needed
psychiatric help, and we decided that my father should go too so that she would have no
excuse. My recollection on the current occasion was that my father quoted Wong as saying,
“Mr. Lehey, I can't see anything wrong with you, but I have my grave doubts about your
wife”.

Then bought some fish and chips and back home, after which Sonny
and Bev went off in my car
to Maidstone to see a film, and Dad and
I went on a pub crawl which ended up at the Poking restaurant with a nasi goreng. Sonny and
Bev picked us up on the way back, as they had no key.

Dad in this morning to wake me and advise me that we had 45 [or 15?] minutes until
it turned 0830 and we were to be under way, so up as snappily as possible and spent the next
10 minutes inducing Sonny to do likewise.
Eventually got Sonny up, and had time for a cup of coffee before the three of us set off for
London. That in itself was a bit of an experience, especially as Dad was not expecting
anything like even an average London traffic. Still managed to arrive in Sackville St. at
only 1015 for what it was worth: there was no mail there for Dad.

Then up to Bryanston Square to see about what proved to be a more than copious quantity of
chartered flights back to KL this
summer. Decided that we might as well leave the car there while we were at it, as there was
free parking, and first to the nearest Wimpy Bar to make up for an almost total lack of
sleep, after which back down to the bank to see if any mail had arrived for Dad - still none
- while Sonny tried to trace a Mitsuba electric fuel pump, to no avail - not even JETRO knew where we could get hold of one. Then down
to the AA with intent
to buy a Guide Michelin, which we
did despite the price of 30/-, and at the same time rang
up Paul Emery Motors and thus traced
the elusive Mitsuba. Then back to the car - by this time it was decidedly hot, and we
stripped down to our shirtsleeves [!] - and then out to Fulham Palace Road to look
for Paul Emery, and apart from the pump talked quite a bit with the man himeslf, who offered
to do Sonny's [cylinder] head up at terms which were apparently quite acceptable to
the latter. Then off to see Citroën
in Slough, and they suggested that in the
circumstances we left it to Citroén
in Paris.

Presumably this referred to the failed fuel pump and the fact that we would soon be in
Paris.

Along to Reading to get my
Green Card - somehow or another Higgs is of the opinion that he owes me £18 odd, so did not
attempt to change his mind, and along to another bloke to get what proved to be a very
competitive insurance quotation - £26 less 33⅓%, £5 for a comp green card for 2 weeks. Then
off back to Tun. Wells,
during which Sonny and Dad went to sleep, and back in Tun. Wells bought some fish and chips.
Found Trev and Angie at home, ready to tow Sonny
to Uckfield, and then had makan, after
which Dad and I made a dash to 7oaks to
see “2001”, only it was
“Cinderella” and “The Horse in the Grey
Flannel suit” instead. Home, Dad to sleep, and Sonny and I off to Westwood to borrow
a dictionary from Jo, and then had a drop to drink. Came home and did little before going
to bed, other than interfering in Sonny's lovelife.

Up much as usual, and spend a good deal of time contemplating what we should do in order to
make a reasonable start in getting off
to France today. Came to an eventual
conclusion that Sonny would need considerable
transport round Kent
and Sussex this morning if he wanted his
car back at any time in the forseeable future, so off with him in my car and to see what we
could do in the way of getting bits for his car. This consideration resulted in an
immediate trip to Flimwell, where we
loaded Sonny's old engine (or at any rate the remaining bits of it) into the back of my car,
and set off for Five Ash Down to
see if they could use any of it in the rehash of the 1000 cc engine. This proved to be the
case - to our surprise, and against the opinion
of Paul Emery, it proved that the cam
pully locating pin had sheared, not doing the pully much good in the process, and that the
timing was approx 90° out, which was what I had suspected.

Amusingly, this wasn't the last time valve timing was way out. About 3 years later, in
Singapore and with a racing car, it happened again, and once again the mechanics didn't
listen to me until they had investigated a number of less plausible options.

Blokes reckoned they would have the new cam in in an hour, so back to town, where Sonny got
a cheque book, and back home to pay Dad for the money he borrowed yesterday. Then did the
final stage of packing, and off again via town in the direction of 5 ash Down, where we
dropped Sonny and set off in a roundabout direction
to Dover.

Eventually arrived at Dover at about 1445, and discovered a boat
to Calais leaving at 1630, so we just had
time to buy our tickets and have some food before loading. Thank God the boats to Calais
don't take long! We were off not long after 1800 and after adjusting to the old priorité à
droite, got on fairly smoothly along the N1 in the direction
of Boulogne, then inland, and after a
bit of searching round
in Montreuil, on
to Abbeville, which we reached before
we knew it and booked in, after a bit of messing around, into the Hôtel de France, which was
not very cheap, but quite nice, and had a quite worthwhile makan with ended up costing more
than the room for the night. Bev and Dad were exhausted,
so went fairly early to bed.

Up round about 0900, and discovered that we had surprisingly few preliminaries and so in a
matter of 15 minutes set off out down the street trying to find some food for the day, which
we eventually did at the somewhat staggering price of 19 NF. Then set off again along the N1
in the direction of Paris, and noted a
definite improvement in the condition of the roads as we approached this capital - something
has obviously improved in this car, which will now tear along at 75 [mph, 120 km/h]
with only one choke open - or possibly it is just the wind and the ram effect of the air
filter. Belted past an English MG
midget about 40 mph [65 km/h] faster than he - why do the Poms drive so slowly?
Arrived in Paris just before noon, and looking for the Rue de Magenta, which proved to be
just by the Gare du Nord, and there
found the Hôtel de l'Europe, which Dick Berryman had recommended to Dad. The place was
full, and Dad did not think much
of Montmatre, and so set off on an not
too unsuccessful search for
the Quartier Latin, and found a
grotty little pub on the edge for 10 NF per nicht, though it involved a stay at a nearby
(nearby? huh!) hôtel call the Unic in the Rue de Rennes not far from
the Gare Montparnasse. Weather
was again hot, and we were all somewhat irritable.
Left Bev at the pub and off to look for
a Citroën agent, and found one just round
the corner, who presented some positively staggering bills for changing the door - 170 odd
NF without painting and 370 NF for relining the brakes, which seemed positively
unbelievable, and so decided to leave that until we get back to England.

By comparison, Middleton Motors had quoted me £20 for the door with painting, about 240
NF.

Obviously there is a good reason why the Pommies buy their spare parts
in Belgium.

Sure. It was closer. I had no evidence that the prices were lower in Belgium.

Let the car there with the promise of a new door by tomorrow morning, and off to get Bev and
head off by the Métro to
the Place de l'Étoile, where,
after a roundabout route, we found
the Arc de Triomphe and
the Champs Élysées, but more to
the point, the Avenue de la
Grande Armée with its car accessory shops. Was quite staggered when I found the price
of Cibié Oscars: 98 NF each, where they were obtainable. I will just wait until we get back
to England.

Why were the prices generally so much higher? Was it because we were in the middle of
Paris, because we didn't know where to buy things, or because the cost of living in
England was really lower? At the time there were still fixed exchange rates, so the last
could be the clue.

Joined Dad and Bev again, a little depressed, and the up the Arc de Triomphe and its 279
steps (according to Bev), had a look at the famous traffic in the Place de l'Étoile, and
eventually back to Montparnasse Bienvenüe, where we drank expensive coffee at a roadside
Café. Home eventually to the hôtel, where we had a a shower in the primitive prefab
bathroom, then off into the Quartier Latin (we think) for makan, which took a long time with
the service. Walked around a bit after that, and then home, none too late, though Dad and
Bev were exhausted and extinguished early.

Up early enough this morning - Dad has obviously achieved long ago what has taken me years
of vain attempts, to get up in a morning at substantially the same time irrespecitive of
what I have done the night before or what lays ahead of me. In any case, we got up in due
course and after a while headed down for breakfast, only to discover that there was no
dining room and that we were expected to have it in our room. Up again, and it was brought
in due course, after which - and it took its time with its long lumps of bread - we packed
our barang and headed downstairs with same, then round the corner to where the car was ready
- cost 180 NF odd, as they had had some complication or another, but it was not a bad job.
Out with same and looking for
the Jardin de Luxembourg,
which we found without all too much trouble, and spent a while looking round there - quite
nice, and with some quite incredibly trained trees - they were obviously experimenting with
the things. Then out again, and coffee at a nearby café, and then back to the car via a
post office, and off to look for
the Palais du Louvre, and had a
while finding a parking space, but eventually created one (“Quick, quick, show me
the Mona Lisa - I'm triple parked!”),
and spent the next hour walking up through
the Jardins des Tuileries,
nothing world-shattering (at least, not to my mind), though it looked nice looking back up
the Champs Élysées to
the Arc de Triomphe. Finally
into the Musée du Louvre at 3 NF
par tête and found definitely the most interesting things to be the Greek and Roman
antiquities - Vénus de
Milo[isn't that Greek?] and Mona Lisa (when we found the latter) left me cold.
Then out again for another salami roll, and back along the Tuileries to the car. Circled a
couple of times around the Place
de la Concorde before finding our way out, then back to the Rue de Rennes to change
hôtels. Did that with only minor complications associated with the mislayal of the receipt
for the money we had paid, and then upstairs and miraculously went out like lights until
some comparatively advanced hour - Dad had been for a walk, but both he
and Bev are getting fed up
with Paris, and contemplating an early
return to England, even if we have to forfeit some of what we have paid for the room here -
which is, admittedly, the least of our worries. After a while off to look for somewhere to
have makan, and then decided to eat at some Bulgarian or Romanian place, where we were well
served by and English-speaking Italian waiter, and had quite an enjoyable meal. After that
walked round the Quartier Latin at
some length, and then back and yet again early to bed, despite all the sleep we had this
afternoon.

Up again none too late - just at times I wish Dad had the ability to get up at a somewhat
later hour than seems to be the case. In any case, this morning he might have had a point,
since the weather, initially not too bad, got considerably worse even by the time we got up
and had our breakfast sent up to us. After that, with vague thoughts of
examining Versailles, set out to the
car, but I felt like seeing if I could get a workshop manual before the shops closed,
particularly when one considers that we were to return to England tomorrow. At the first
place we were going to go to, there was not much, and what there was was out of date, so up
to the Avenue des
Champs-Élysées and to the Citroën
showroom, where I saw a couple of Ami 8's and was given an address in
the Ave. de la Grande
Armée to get my books. Then out to the rain and to look for Dad
and Bev, who eventually found me in the car. Had some
exorbitantly expensive coffee and cake in a nearby café, then along to the Ave. de la Grande
Armée and and got a book, though not the Citroën workshop manual, which is unobtainable/out
of print. Then off to Versailles, while it brightened up considerably. Then got a fill of
petrol, and discovered a distressingly low oil level in the sump, which occasioned a rather
bad mood all the way to Versailles. There the weather was still quite dry, and the only
problem was the violent wind, which had been sufficient to make us to decide not to go round
the garden, and just had a look round the château itself. That was quite luxurious, though
I am not particularly interested in such things. After that, gave all up and went driving a
bit round Versailles, after which we found what we thought to be a little pub and had some
makan, which was nothing fantastic, though admittedly plentiful, and we absolutely stuffed
ourselves. Then back via what must have been a rather roundabout way, and then back to the
hôtel and went to sleep.

Woke up again just about round makan time, and so out again for a walk, though we did little
else - Bev and Dad were not hungry, and so had only a salad, much to the amusement of the
waitress, and I had a goulasch, which was none too good. After that, off to have a final
look round the place before leaving, then back to pack and none too late to bed.

Up early enough this morning, with the same promise of good weather that we had had
yesterday, and rang up to order breakfast, only to discover that we would not be able to get
it for well over an hour, so decided to do without it and get something en route. Then
spent no small time trying to get out
of Paris, but going round in circles - say
what Dad will, I think I ought to get a compass for the car. In any case, in due course
were on the open road, driving into a headwind which kept us down to 58 mph [93 km/h]
on the flat, nothing to be proud of. Had breakfast at a place
called Magny,

There are many Magnys in France, but none of them seem to fit the itinerary, unless we
were seriously lost.

where we should have turned off the main road, but did not. Found our way eventually
aright, then went cross-country nearly
to Abbeville, and halfway I decided to
give Dad the wheel, and he did not do too badly, once he had worked out where the 4th gear
was.

The gear shift on the Citroën
Ami 6, like the 2CV,
was dash-mounted, with a push and tilt mechanism, and 4th was by itself on the right. On
this particular car it was also not easy to engage.

He handed back to me in Abbeville, and we made good time from there
to Boulogne, at whose Hoverport we
arrived at 1230 hrs, and booked a float
to Dover at 1520, then into town for a
quite good makan. Back at 1430 for the ticket, only to be told that a mistake had been
made, and we couldn't get on after all. Swore, drove round Boulogne, and then thought that
maybe there would be some cancellations, so off back again, and somehow Dad did his best and
got us on. Took a long time to take off, but not long after that the get to Dover.
Sensation is rather like a rough plane, or travelling over a very bumpy surface in the boot
of a Citroën DS, in slow
motion. Then through passport control, and (easier) customs, and were told at Townsends
that Dad's film had indeed been seen, and that we would have to get it tomorrow. Then off,
slowly, to Tun. Wells,
where we found a rather distraught Sonny with
Trev and 2 engines in pieces in the living room. Out
with Jim for some food and to Westwood, while he
told me a rather fantastic story about some
trouble Shari was in, then later off with him again,
and with Larry, for a vain attempt to get hold of some birds - Larry and I paid for the
booze, Jim got the girl.

This page was the first to be transcribed, forty years later in April 2009, shortly after
my father's death. The rest was transcribed over 7 years later. At the time I tried to
compensate for the single-paragraph style of most diary entries. Later I stuck more
closely to the original.

Up early enough this morning, instigated mainly by Larry's brother shouting
at Jim, who was still asleep, but supposed to be
waiting outside for Larry to take him to college. He got out pretty quickly, and we got out
pretty soon after that. Then had some coffee, and dropped Sonny at college—he had
apparently seen fit to go to college today, so that they do not completely forget about him.

Dad and I then went into London, the usual long dreary journey, and arrived at the bank, the
centre and beginning of all our London activities, not long after opening, and after
circling round for a while while I let Dad off and did my best to hang around for a while
while he got his mail, which proved to be a rather long letter from Mum giving a
considerable amount of news, including the news that she is still trying to write me a
letter.

Then off to BOAC, which involved me in a
parking space, and Dad got a new ticket. Back to the bank for some money, then up to Oxford
Street and H&G supplies, and ascertained that they had nothing like Oscars, then took
Dad up to Malaysia Hall in Bryanston Square, and myself to a place in Edgeware Road, which
neither had any Oscars, nor had much idea where I could get any.

“Oscar” is the name of a series of auxiliary headlights made
by Cibié, and used by rally drivers. My
car was a Citroën Ami 6,
but I liked to think of myself as a rally driver. My father didn't agree for some
reason—thus his ill humour later in the day.

Found Dad again, and then had makan in the Wimpy by Marble Arch, and up the road a bit to
see “if...” again,
which impressed Dad considerably, and gave me further food for thought, though now I do not
like it as much as I did the first time, especially having come to the conclusion that one
of the Crusaders was a queer.

Out and tried in vain to contact Britova (Continental) and in a bad mood, not helped by Dad,
in the direction of Tun. Wells. Stopped at a few places en route, and finally, at SIPD in
Bromley, struck gold with the news that I would have a couple of Cibiés at SIPD in
Tun. Wells on Wednesday morning, at the standard price—Dad had calmed down a bit by
this time.

Then home and found Sonny back, and shortly
later, while I was messing around with the head of the Old Gray
Mare, Jim arrived, feeling none too happy, and
quickly disappeared into his room and did some work, then out with Larry to some place or
another.

Hung about in the evening, doing little—took Sonny
and Bev to Westwood and had intended to visit Annette to
get my flash gun, but could not find her. It wood [sic] not have made much
difference: she had come here with the thing, and it was buggered, many thanks to her. Did
little else in the evening, apart from talk to Jim about his latest flop when he returned.

Had intended to get up extremely early this morning, but somehow it did not work out, so
again up round about the time Jim was due to
leave, and off in the direction of Dover to
pick up Dad's film, somewhat too late, and hit a fair amount of traffic, and even though we
made quite good time, the tool box (i.e. my old tuck box from Kestrels, all those years ago,
still going strong, and capable of knocking great dents in the wheel arches at the back.)
made a nuisance of itself. Arrived at Dover around 1030, and spent more than a little time
there looking for the Townsend offices, in Down [? can't find on map] street, which we eventually found, and Dad
got his film back, however without the exposed one, which he assumes, likely enough, to have
have been sent on to Hemel
Hempstead, especially as it was already addressed.

Hemel Hempstead was the headquarters
of Kodak in
the United Kingdom, where the
only processing laboratory
for Kodachrome was located. Quite
possibly that was this film, taken from
an Super 8 film I took at the
time:

Then back again, buying some tobacco
in Folkestone, and shortly
before Ashford, just as I had
observed that my guarantee expires today,

Only a 6 month guarantee!

suffered from what seems likely to have been a blocked primary main [carburettor]
jet, though, after a good deal of spluttering and jerking through Ashford, it again
disappeared without a trace. Back at about 1230, and
found Sonny there, alledgedly having been to
college, though I have my doubts. Had a bite to eat, and after a bit of debating into the
town to buy a few things, including, finally, a carpet for thee car, though, as I feared, it
had to be stitched together. Dad claimed to be good at this, and so spent a further while
looking for carpet stitching implements, and back, where I did a bit of work on the car,
cleaning out the cabin mainly, and gave Dad the old carpet as a template for the new - he
did a very good job, doubtless better than I could have done, and apart from a slight error
in one of the holes, the thing looks perfect. It is almost impossible to detect the seam.
The car looks a lot better for that and the cleaned seats, as well as the wash which Dad,
unable to stand the mess any longer, insisted on giving it. In the evening, despite a great
desire to see Lesley Cannings again, stayed
behind and watched Dad's films, including a new one which did, in fact, show about 5 seconds
of Lesley in a swimming pool tickling the sole of an unidentified foot. Then read my book
and listened to Jim's latest tale of woe.

Up yet again at much the same time, and had a token breakfast before taking Dad
and Bev to the station so that they could go to
London. Sonny came with us - he seems yet again
disinclined to do much work at college, though his explanation that he is afraid to let Trev
alone with his car bears water. In any case, dropped the ciné projector, which we had
hired, and after buying something at Rawsons, headed back to the flat to pick up Trev, then
off to Frasers to look in vain for an Imp/Weber throttle linkage, and had a conversation
with a friendly mechanic with violent language. Then into Tun. Wells and to SIPD, after a vain
attempt to get hold of any money - my cheque book has (again) run out, and discovered that
it made little difference, as the Oscars had, predictably, not arrived. Swore a little, but
there was little to do about it. Back to the flat, had some fish and chips, then Trev and
Sonny set to work on his, while I had a look at the Old Grey Mare cylinder head,
and cleaned it up somewhat. Then out to have a look at the Ami, and was just contemplating spraying
the interior paintwork matt black when Annette and her friend Mary arrived, and the former
apologised for the flash gun. Then set to her and removed her necklace, which had some
handy washers on it, and gave her some spring ones instead. She seemed uninterested,
however, in the offer of an old valve to add to the collection. Then I got back to the car
and spent a while cleaning out the engine compartment, including the bonnet sound dampening,
and was just adjusting the brakes when one of Sonny's teachers arrived and wanted to have a
chat with him, which had somewhat serious consequences.

I suppose that if you intend to skip school, you should live further away. Sonny was
in 17 Broadwater Down, if I recall correctly, about 300 m from the college at the end of
Broadwater Down.

He accordingly went off to school, while Trev, Annette (who had decided to stay the
afternoon) and I took Sonny's car down to have the head torqued up. Then back and I
finished my brakes, while Annette, who has been tarting around, asked me to teach her to
drive. Then off to get some Jubilee
Clips, and after that finished my chassis lubrication and changed the oil out in the
country. Inside to recover for a while, until Sonny came in and asked what was likely to
cause backfiring through the carbs, so out to see an enormous flame shoot out of the
No. 1. carb, so messed around with the ignition timing until light and Trev failed us, and
Dad and Bev came home. Later on out with Dad to the
George in Robertsbridge, and had a couple
of pints, and back to catch up with a sorely neglected diary.

Up late this morning, partially because, owing
to Jim getting himself a case of the flu, I had
opted to sleep on the floor. Eventually came to, to find Jim still in bed, feeling none too
well, and Dad making some breakfast, so joined in with him, and shortly later we were joined
by Bev and Jim. Then worked out what proved to be an
immense shopping list, and in with Dad to eliminate the same, starting at Sainsbury's, which
got rid of most of it, as well as over £4. Then off to look for some of the more exotic
things, as well as various car parts. Accordingly to SIPD, and there ascertained that my
lights were on the way, and also did a bit more asking around, which led me along to
Halfords, where I bought some bolts and tools, and after that along to Rawsons, but found
them shut, and so to look for the House of Pepper, which was also shut. Then Dad got
flakers, and so I had to take him home, and Sonny
was there, and so we had a bite to eat, and then round to have a look for a few more thinks
for the car - got some gear oil, which might be of use, and then along to Rawson's to look
for some fuel pipe and a workshop manaul for
an Imp, and got neither. Then to
Gaedons, where we got nothing more than the advice to go to Mile's garage, which we did, and
I got my fuel pipe and Sonny got his jump leads, and then back to the flat to work on our
respective cars. I did a bit of preliminary work on my fuel pump, and then helped Sonny with
his car, sparked off my battery, after a while of which we managed to get the thing going,
and made a hell of a clatter, which attracted Dad, who then started taking come ciné of our
activities.

This culminated in the fitting of the pump, and the discovery that the pump still fouled the
air filter, so moved the thing about 2" to the left, which helped somewhat, though it
is still a bit tight. Then tried abortively to change the gear oil, and in to have makan,
after which Sonny and Bev went off to see a flick, and Dad and I stayed at home and did
little. Not too late to bed.

Up, as usual, in time to take Dad into town to go to London, and then into town to get a few
other things. Had a look round for some bolts
for Sonny, to no avail, then tried to get his
battery, but was told it would not be ready till this afternoon. Then across to SIPD, where
the bearded bloke (suspect queer) produced for me a couple of Oscar fogs, which I had never
expected to be there. Bought a spare bulb in the process, which, along with the brackets,
effectively swallowed up my £3 deposit. Then back home and did a bit of fitting of the
lamps - the went on quite well, and took surprisingly little rewiring on the part of the fog
circuits. It is, of course, difficult to ascertain the quality of a fog in the daytime, but
they seemed bright enough. Then inside to rest myself for a while - had a slight sore
throat and felt not the best. Then Jim and
Sonny returned, followed closely by Annette and a lass called Ingrid, who was either
coloured or unwashed, or possibly both. Annette was very friendly, and wanted my flash for
the weekend (thus the friendliness). Then she left, I took Sonny into college, and then to
look for Sonny's battery, but arrived too early, so went to the Wimpy for a while and
considered my headlight wiring, then to Country Electrical to discover that the battery was
still inoperative, and home to give Jim a pep talk and to rewire my foglamps. That I did,
switching the fogs either to the pilot lights or the headlights, and not bypassing the dip
lights as I did before. Inside, and hung around for a while, and then Sonny came back and
went outside to connect up his fuel pump in the front. After a while he knocked on the
door, and when I opened it, he fell in, clutching the pump in one hand and his eyes in the
other. Washed his eyes out, while Bev, despite Sonny's
protests, called an ambulance, which arrived after about 10 minutes. Followed Sonny to the
hospital in my car, and then waited around while they washed out his eyes and put some
patches on the same. Conducted him back home, then off to pick Dad up, and home with some
fish and chips for makan. Later on Trev came by, and saw how Sonny was getting on, and then
came out with me to see how my lights were - absolutely fantastic, and very useful also on
dipped beam. Sold my old lights to Trev for £6 while I was at it, and then back. Quite
some time later arrived Jim and Larry, whom we told, and apparently they believed, that
Sonny had seen a blinding column of light, which had been the cause of his bad luck. Then
took them out for a ride in the car, and terrified Larry, who had never been it before, and
thought we were going to tip up. All impressed with the lights.

Up again none too early - by the time I came to to
find Sonny still asleep and softly moaning (or it
might have been snoring), we were already due at the hospital. Got up and had breakfast,
and took Sonny's eyepads off for him. Then off into town, and to the hospital, where we
were kept waiting an inordinately long time, which Sonny used trying to persuade me to ask
Nurse Simmons for a date because she walked like me. Eventually Sonny had his eyes passed
and we went back out into the open and to County Electrical, where I bought a couple of
clear bulbs for my headlights, and then Sonny got his battery back. To Sainsbury's to do
some shopping, and got that over with pretty quickly by putting Sonny in the queue as soon
as we arrived, while I got all the barang. Then to Mile's garage, where Sonny bought a
couple of yards of petrol piping, and then back home, buying some cough mixture on the way,
as I was coming down with my first noteworthy cold for many years - no thanks
to Jim, who gave it to me anyway, for turning
off the heaters last night.

Back at home, took some cough mixture, but carried on feeling worse, and so apart from
putting my new plugs in - I am not too fond of the Bosch ones - and then went inside, and
after a while Bev cooked some none-too-pleasant makan.
Then sat down on the couch to shiver through the afternoon, though I was galvanised into
action when I saw Sonny heading down the drive in his car. Then he came back, complaining
of lack of torque, and sounding remarkably like a motorbike. Investigation showed that he
was, in fact, only firing on 2, and in the other carb he found an unlikely float level,
after whose remedy the thing went like a rocket. Then back inside again, and Sonny
(finally) cooked his mee, which
was in fact
meehoon, and unfortunately I was not
really feeling well enough to enjoy it. Later Bev and Sonny went out, and Trev came in
singing the praises of Trev, then went out again for a while, and Sonny and Bev returned,
apparently having had an argument. Bev finally refused to talk to Sonny, and Sonny took a
hefty swig of vodka and set off somewhere in the car.

My recollection was that Sonny had received a letter
from Shari, which in itself was rather unusual.
Instead of letting Bev read it, he tore it up, flushed it down the toilet and said “See,
that's how much Shari means to me”. I wasn't convinced either.

Woke up in the middle of the night to find Sonny
sitting in an armchair crying his eyes out,
and Jim making a nuisance of himself asking him
questions. Told Jim to leave him alone, but he would not. Then Sonny complained of not
being able to breathe, and fell unconscious onto the floor. Jim and I carried him into
Jim's room and laid him on the bed, and then I went and, with some opposition from Dad,
called an ambulance. In the meantime Sonny stopped breathing altogether, which rather
shocked us; I recovered first, and started giving him mouth-to-mouth resuscitation, and then
Dad continued with more conventional means of artificial respiration. In the
meantime, Bev was helping matters by crying her eyes out.
The ambulance came - I have had more experience of calling ambulances this weekend than in
all my life before - and pumped some oxygen into him, and then took him away. Followed on -
I am getting rather used to this - and hung about while Bev controlled her tears and they
decided that he would live. Then back home and had some tea, and sat round talking for a
while until the hospital rang up and said that Sonny had regained consciousness, and that
the doctor would like to have a talk with someone about him. Bev, Jim and I went back down
and I had a talk with an Indian doctor who suspected him of having taken drugs, and then
discharged him, saying there was nothing else to be done, just as a heart patient came in.
Home and quick to bed.

What really happened? I don't know. The doctor really wanted to know what drug he had
been taking in order to be able to treat him better, but I was never aware of Sonny taking
drugs, though I wouldn't have put it past him, particularly under the circumstances.

Woke up round 1000 hrs, and had a quick snack before heading off
to Horsham to see the Shipleys. Had no
idea where the place was, and so rang Ivor from the station, who in due course came along in
a new Jag Mark 2 and conducted us
home. Almost as soon as we arrived, Dad, Ivor and I went out to the nearest pub and
consumed no less than 3 pints of beer each in 1½ hours, somewhat above my normal load. Then
back for an excellent makan, while I observed that their daughter Jane (who surely could not
have been there before) was eligible if somewhat on the young side. Then we sat round and
spoke at great length, while one of the other kids (Raiph, Rett, Ruth in that order - what a
problem they must have calling them),

Obviously the first one was called Ralph, but I had never heard that name pronounced
like that before.

dragged out a Dinky toy model of an
Ami 6 - they are apparently
all somewhat taken by the car. Had tea, and set off home some time after 1800. Kids
examined the interior of the car and commented on how nice it was - nice for kids brought up
on Jags. Got home pretty quickly, in only 45 minutes, quite a respectable time, and felt so
tired that I went straight off to sleep and woke round 2130, and then off with Dad for a
drive so he could see what my lights are like - he was impressed, but also scared.

Dad in this morning, and suggested, somewhat to my surprise, that he go into London by train
and that I come in later to see him off - I don't know what made him suggest that. In any
case, got up and ready, while Dad presented me with a sausage sandwich for my trouble, and
then I asked Sonny what he was going to do, and
he agreed to come in with us to London, but in his car. Then Dad said something, and Sonny
said he was not coming in until much later - wierd. In any case, loaded all Dad's barang
into the car, and set off for the long, dreary drive into London, not helped by the weather,
which was as I remember England when I first came here, 12 long
years ago. I hope that in 12 years time I will be back in Australia. In any case, we
made it into London, and I dropped Dad at the bank, then parked the car and went to meet
Dad, who promptly wanted to go back to the car. Then by tube
to Holborn, Red Lion Square and
Toye, Kenning and Clarke, who made
the Rotary Club spoons we have at
home, but they had a new model out, not matching the old, and sent us round to a mob the
other side of Kingsway, who said they did not touch Rotary stuff. Then had makan at a Wimpy
Bar in Kingsway, which was, but virtue of one or the waiters, who much once have sold
tickets for a fair, and who kept up a running commentary thought the meal. Even showed us
the name of the place in the Good Coffee Guide, which must be a bit of an honour.

Then back to the West End, and
bought a couple of diodes in Lisle st, and then picked up the car, and out to the airport.
Had just booked Dad's bags in when he remembered to get some flowers for Mum, and so out
to Slough to look for a florist, which was
no easy job, and even when we found one, they had no roses. At the third attempt, in the
Trading Estate, we were lucky, and Dad bought 6 rose buds at 3/- a go. Then back to the
airport, and had a cup of coffee, then arrived Bev and Sonny, the latter with the news that
his “1000 cc” block was in fact a bored out 875, and so he was annoyed and determined to be
rid of same.

Then Dad left - how sad to be rid of him so soon! - and the only consolation is that in 6
weeks I shall be under way myself. Followed Bev and Sonny firing on 3 as far
as Bromley, then cylinder 4 came into
operation, and they belted away. Arrived in Tun. Wells at 1910, and to the
Essoldo to see Lock up your Daughters, unfortunately not as good as I had hoped. Then back home, and had some makan, and
without all too much further ado off to bed.

Up round 1030 hrs this morning, with still no sign
from Sonny
and Bev. Out to the car, where I thought it might be a
good idea to see if I could fit the couple of diodes to my light-flash circuit, but to no
avail - the fitting would have been
very Heath-Robinson, and so
decided to go down town and see what fitments I could find to hold the things more securely
in place. Could not find any nuts - apparently the electrical BA thread is different from
the normal English threads; thank God everything is going metric soon -

Nearly 50 years later we still have the same mess.

but I did discover that the plug sleeves in Halfords would just accommodate the threaded
end, and so took a couple of those. The back and set up the whole affair, but discovered,
rather to my disappointment and definitely to my annoyance, that one of them was passing a
back current. Maybe the current was too much for it; admittedly it was passing 16,7 A,
and was only rate at 4,7 A continuous, but for a fraction of a second it could surely
take that sort of overload.

Be that as it may, why did I buy diodes that could only handle a fraction of the
load?

The only consolation was that I found the prices of a replacement in the innards of the
dashboard, as well as 20 [French] centimes and 10 Pfennig. Then inside, out of the
rain, and observing it to be 1300, and Bev due to leave
from Paddington at 1430, tried
to wake her and Sonny, but discovered that she had decided to stay until tomorrow. They
came out eventually, apparently having made a night of it, and had breakfast, while it
occurred to me that my nose was still not in perfect order.

Later on down into town, mainly on Bev's and Sonny's behalf, and there bought an
extraordinary quantity of things just with small change, which was evidently more abundant
than I had suspected. Inter alia bought a small compass which is mounted in a spherical
container, which is as good a universal mounting as one could hope, though it appears unduly
affected by local magnetic fields, even near the (aluminium) roof; near the wiper motor it
swayed in sympathy with the wipers.

Back home, did little until Jim cam home, then
off with him and a couple of boomerangs
to do some throwing; I have finally worked out how to make a mediocre boomerang come back:
it is just a question of throwing the thing higher, obviously impossible if you are trying
to hit anything with it, but otherwise acceptable. Still a bit scaring when the thing
embeds itself in the ground by your feet.

If my memory serves me right, it never came to that: I ran away first, so it's not
clear how close it would have come.

Then back home and hung around for a while, had my hair cut and then the 3 of us went to the
Curry Inn for makan, which, as usual, I did good justice to - it is odd how much rice I eat
for a given amount of curry.

In the course of the decades I've come to the conclusion that Western restaurants just
don't serve enough rice.

Then home again, and I did a bit of rudimentary packing (after all, I will be back here
again on Friday), and then off to Wel Gar, where I arrived quite
late and soon to bed.

And back to the monotony of life! Up later than usual, as I imagined (incorrectly, as it
happened) that I had no milk for breakfast, and just as I was about to go and wash,
Mrs. Garrad beat me to it, which annoyed me no little. In to work, and time began to drag
right from the start - will be glad when I get out of the place. After a bit of sorting out
mail, including stuff from Inland
Revenue, who wanted to know what I was doing between March and December last year,

Presumably I had registered with them when I did some part-time work in London in late
February 1968.

and a letter from John in Wilton saying that he is setting up a Mini SEB and wants advice,
and that he is also sending his own assistant, one John Bradley, that the same might get
some worthwhile advice from me. All of a sudden my knowledge is in demand, at least by the 2
Johns. Then Lola and Richard Cooper decided that the best way I could amuse myself would be
to have a go at the tensometer, which is something I have never yet done. Accordingly in
and got Owen to show me the noper [?] - quite a nice little machine, really. Took
some time getting set up, but managed to get a couple of sheets finished before lunch.
After lunch, did remarkably little, then back at the tensiles again, and, rather to my
surprise, this took me all afternoon. Then gathered together all the graphs and back to my
desk to make the most of the last half hour. I hope I continue to do a lot of this clean
work - I am getting just a little fed up with burning holes in my pants. Then went
shopping, and back home for some coffee, and read a few test reports, which once again
inspired me to buy a 1955 or
later 15 - 6
with hydropneumatic
rear suspension.

Then downstairs to cook makan, and Mrs Garrad was there waiting, to tell me her tale of woe.
Joe seems to have effectively left the place a week ago, and now owes her 2 weeks rent, and
she is understandably upset. Rather suspected something like that might happen, but what
could I have done anyway? Had makan, then upstairs to read and later to bed - had intended
to go out, but was too tired after makan.

Up and downstairs as usual this morning, and this time Mrs. Garrad was up, which always
slows me down somewhat. Then to work, and hung around for a while doing little before I
decided I had better get down to the evaluation of the tensile graphs that I produced
yesterday. After a while of this, Richard Cooper came along and asked me to make some
catalysts for him, which I thought was rather nasty of him, since I have decided to do as
little dirty work as possible. In any case, there was little to do but get down to it, and
so got hold of a magnetic stirrer and started 3 side-by-side preparations - there is no
doubt that these magnetic stirrers are a great improvement on the glass versions. Then left
that for lunch, after which I went into town and got myself hold of a cheque book, and also
bought a few magazines. In Exchange and Mart found what I had been looking for - a
1955 Citroën 15-6
with hydropneumatic
rear suspension, only £40, but “partially dismantled, towable”. Thought about it for a
while, but eventually, and very reluctantly, decided against on the grounds that I already
had one traction in pieces, and the last thing I needed was another. Possibly when I am
in Exeter I can keep an eye out for one.
In the meantime saw a Panhard 1959 model
(Dyna 16, I think) going
for £50, which seems interesting, and as it was
in Potter's Bar, decided to have a
look. Finished making the catalyst, and
then Sonny rang up to say that Bev was not
feeling too well, and would I like to come down this evening and drive him
to Devon? Thought about this, and decided
that there were grounds to ask for a day off on the strength of this, and so went and saw
Peter Clegg, got permission, and at the same time told him I wanted to resign. Told me to
go and get Ann to write me a letter of resignation, and then I rang up Sonny and told him
about the Panhard (about which he was quite enthusiastic) and that I would be down somewhere
near 2100 hrs. Finished off the tensile calculation, which involved
the Olivetti computer, and then
off home, paid Mrs. Garrad for this month, and got my barang for the weekend and set off for
Potter's Bar. Found Gregory Avenue (yes!) without too much trouble, and saw the car, which,
for the age, is in remarkably good condition. The fellow drove me round in it, though he
would not let me drive it, and before I had my chance, I put my foot in
it [literally] by treading on the brake pedal and bursting a hydraulic pipe. He said
he would see to that, and so I said I would have another look some time next week. Then off
to Tun. Wells, arriving
at about 2030, and had a 40 minute wait before we set off, deciding to go along the coast,
as we suspected it would be quicker. All was not helped by a remarkably strong headwind,
which, as a couple of weeks ago in France,
kept me down to 60 mph [95 km/h]. Filled up
at Lewes, then belted on non-stop
to Dorchester, though the car was not
idling too well, and stalled a couple of times at the lights. At Dorchester, stopped for
some hamburgers at a mobile roadside Mini, and then on again
to Honiton and Exeter, where we stopped
again at the Peamore Garage for the usual. Then across
the moor, but which time I was feeling
bloody tired, and was only too glad to reach Grimstone and hop into Bev's bed.

Was woken at 0540, after little over 2 hours sleep, and felt absolutely dazed, so
let Sonny drive across a
misty moor, and lay down in the back and
went off, gradually, to sleep. I am amazed at how much of this road I can recognise, just
by the way the car moves: the cattle grid east of Dartmoor, the hills following, the bridge,
the junction at the A38, the Exeter bypass
and even the hump bridge at Clyst
Honiton. Then I went to sleep and woke up somewhere
near Alton, and took over, as
Sonny was getting rather tired, and drove on to London, filling up again on the outskirts
of Reading. In London, to
the BMC showrooms and
saw the new 1500cc Austin Maxi,
distinguished by the ohc transverse engine with 5 speed box and the rear door as in the
French breed of cars (like mine). Also has fully reclining seats
front and rear. Then to buy another diode,
and on the way back also bought a sleeping bag, which I trust will soon prove its worth.
Then back to Tun. Wells,
arriving at about 1330 hrs - it is amazing the amount of ground Sonny and I have covered
since I arrived here all but 6 months ago.

So far over the weekend I had done 950 odd km.

Had a bite to eat, then down with Sonny to Brayleys
in Five Ash Down, and drove it some
of the way - there is no doubt that there is something wrong with the front axle, and I
suspect that it is the track, which looks as if it is out. Also discussed with Brayleys
whether they could drill a hole in my inlet manifold for me, which they appeared to be able
to do, though not for a while.

Why? It should take less than a minute. Maybe they wanted to remove the manifold
first.

Then off back to Tun. Wells, with Sonny
scoring Crowborough for a wheel
snot [?], and had intended to go on
to Coulsdon to see the Gwilliams, but
felt so tired that I decided I would far better employ the time by getting a bit of sleep.
Woke up and Jim was home, and so talked him in
to bringing Laura over here tonight - Sonny had been suggesting that I take Laura away from
him. Had not really through about it until I saw her, and she is indeed very attractive.
While at a loose end, she suggested we played poker, and before long we ended up playing
strip poker, how I am not exactly certain. The most embarassing thing is when one loses -
and I lost in a big way: I was sitting there stark naked while all the others were fully
dressed. Then Laura had a run of bad luck, and had to strip all the way down. Laura was very shy to begin with, but then had a drink and
became anything but shy, and before I, also having had something to drink, knew where I was,
I was shaving her legs for her, which was quite nice. Then Sonny went out to get some more
booze, and it occurred to me to take some photos of Laura with what film I had, and then
called it a night - by this time I had a ¼ bottle of rum in me as well, but was still able
to drive, though otherwise was pretty high. Good think I was not caught that time for
the breathalyser. Back home, via a
party at No. 22, and then quick to bed.

Up at 0815 this morning, feeling tired and with the enormous thirst which indicates that I
did, in fact, have quite a lot to drink last night. Had some coffee and went of to
Southborough to pick Laura up
- the car was misfiring rather badly, and I am still baffled as to what has been causing it.
Had to stop at one point, but the car did not stall and continued OK, so there was little I
could do about it. I think a check on the contact breaker might well be in order. Got back
home, via the Camera Centre for some HP4, and then had some coffee,
while Jim got up and did his not-too-good best
to disrupt proceedings. Laura eventually got undressed, and I took a few photos of her with
an open-fronted shirt, then Trevor and Angie arrived and stopped further action for about 20
minutes. Then got back to work, and took some more photos, this time of her stark naked,
though of course we were somewhat hindered by the fact that I could not open the curtains
more than a crack. Then Sonny got rid of Jim,
and our only problem was Larry mowing the lawn outside.

My recollection is that somehow Larry got wind of what was going on and thus decided
to mow the lawn exactly there.

Laura performed excellently, without any self-consciousness whatsoever, although I was
there, fully clothed, alone with her, and she was starkers. Eventually finished off the
film, and took Laura home, after which I went on
to Coulsdon, and eventually, none too
soon, found where the Gwilliams lived, and in to see them. They had some old friends,
ex-Sarawakians, with them, and we all had
lunch, in somewhat of a chaos, after which friends, names still forgotten, disappeared, and
I had a conversation and some (real) coffee with the Gwilliams, though I feel possibly they
were a little put out by my arrival - though possibly it was just my imagination. In any
case, had a look at Russel's Jaguar bronze
coloured Bond Équipe GT (as opposed
to Dad's idea of a wine-coloured Jaguar; Russell said something to the effect that they had
been drinking Beaujolais at the time,
which might provide the connection.) Then off, with a promise (?) to return with Bev some
time, and back to Tun. Wells, where Jim and Sonny were convinced that I had spent the day
screwing Laura, which impression was not helped by the fact that I was exhausted.

And why didn't I? Part of the problem was my attitude that a photographer doesn't
sleep with his models. But in my recollection I also thought I had been invited to the
Gwilliams, and didn't want to show up with an uninvited companion. That no longer makes
much sense.

Nevertheless into town to buy some developer, then home and flaked out for a few hours.
Then Jim and Larry came in with fish, chips and Laura, and after that I started developing
the HP4, in the middle of which Alan and Shirley arrived - for some reason, Sonny is being
friendly to them. Finished developing the film, which came out very well, and then off to
cover some midnight hike, which degenerated into a post-mortem of an orgy
in Hildenborough, just round the
corner from Alan Fraser. Back late, wrote up my diary, and much later to bed.

Jim came through at some indeterminate hour this
morning, but I was exhausted and slept on. When I did get up, at 1300 hrs, everybody else
was asleep, and so in to wake Sonny and then go
and make some coffee. Sonny came out a bit later, and soon after Larry came down and had a
talk with us, mainly discussing the photos I took yesterday, and then he got talking to
Sonny about chopping up bumper bars - for some reason, Sonny wanted to fit ¼ bumpers onto
his car, and so in due course, he, Larry and Jim (who by this time had got up again) went
off somewhere in Sonny's car, and I stayed behind and tidyed up the kitchen somewhat. Then
back to the car, and ascertained that there was little wrong with the plugs, although one of
them had a greasy top, so hoped that might have been the cause of the misfiring, and went
back inside to cook myself an omelette. Had just about finished this when everybody
returned, and then Sonny and Jim did their share of the cooking, I did a bit more diary
writing and evaluation of yesterday's negs, then started packing my barang and reading
various extracts from Chambers Encyclopedia, after which out to examine Sonny's car with the
¼ bumpers, which looks quite good, though Sonny does not seem to think so. Back inside and
did a bit more packing, messed around a bit more, and then finally set off, with Sonny
following in his car. The jerking certainly seemed to have stopped, and I had just decided
that it was probably the plug after all, when it started again. Still, it was not too bad
and so I continued through a rather crowded London, and arrived in WGC 2 hours later. Then had a
look at my tappets, which were madly out,
and I suspect the starboard inlet valve was not closing. Adjusted them with a lot of
cursing - this engine is really not as accessible as is made out - and then test drove the
thing, with a lot of tappet noise (which I seem to remember from when I first got the
thing), but also as much if not more hesitancy and misfiring as before. Must be the
ignition. Then home and cooked some makan, after which upstairs to read some test reports
on the Panhard Dyna series. As a
result of all that, late to bed.

Overslept this morning, waking only at 0830, which without breakfast or a shave just about
gave me time to arrive at work without being too late. There I found a letter
from Sandy Schaedel, to whom I have been meaning to
write ever since Dad said that she reckone [sic] I owed her a letter. She did not,
apparently, for she was full of apologies for not having written earlier. Things are not
going too well with Dean, which may have something to do with her writing to me. Read the
letter thoroughly, then along came Ken Whitely, who is somewhat annoying at such times, and
suggested that I made some more catalysts. Poor bloke, I don't think he is trying to be
offensive or hard to get on with, it is just a combination of shyness and an attempt to give
me something to do. Also, I am not feeling exactly like making any more catalysts right
now, and had rather hoped that since the HP lab is not operative for the next 2 weeks, I
would not have to. Still, such is life, and I might as well accept it. Did a bit of
running around in the morning, talking to John Allday about stirring, trying to find some
LiC₄H₉, and ordering some Zirconium
alkyls. Then hung round doing little until lunch time, when I went into town to get some
money, and also bought an AP and a writing pad. Back, had a violent lunch - I do not of
late seem as hungry as before. Perhaps the weather has something to do with it. Slept the
lunch off for a while, and then, as Richard Cooper had still not shown up, started a letter
to Sandy Schaedel, and before Richard came along, had done quite a bit. Had no work until
teatime, and then Lola suggested I did some MFI calculations, while Richard talked to me for
a while about his new ideas for making β-TiCl₃. Then just about
everybody went off to a meeting, I did my calculations and then finished off my letter to
Sandy, and then home with a view to adjusting/checking the ignition timing. After about an
hour of messing round trying to remove a fan bolted on the inacccessible side

In fact, the only bolt was very accessible, but the fan was on a conical union that was
almost impossible to loosen.

and insert a 6mm rod into a hole in line with the apparently unremovable dipstick, I changed
my mind andwondered if it would not be simpler just to fit
a Panhard engine. Inside and washed up,
and had some makan, and then upstairs to consider Panhards further, and came to the
conclusion that I should sell the Ami and buy a 24 CT, which
would be economically feasible.

Only woke at 0830 this morning, with the result that I had a good deal of trouble getting to
work on time, but just about managed to make it, and then had the prospect ahead of me of
Richard's ideas of making new catalysts Richard himself, however, was not much in evidence,
and so I thought it might just be wise to get myself doing some other work, and so offered
to do some grading for Lola. As ever, she took me up on this, albeit on the condition that
I should drop it should anything more important crop up. Somehow or another I managed to
get very little indeed done, although I started almost as soon as I arrived; admittedly this
was not helped by various mishaps, such as some very hard polymers (MFI ≈ 0,06), and one
which spilt [?] all over the place, which involved sucking up with the vacuum
cleaner. Also Jack Layton was using the balance most of the day, which I considered
somewhat inconsiderate of him, and it meant I had to sit around doing nothing. By the end
of the morning I had graded 4 or 5 polymers, and then to lunch - my appetite has fallen off
greatly recently, and on top of that I am feeling very tired, so that I spent about ½ an
hour sleeping after lunch. Then back to work, with little more success - by the time I woke
up, I found Lola doing some grading, and so offered to do the calculations for her, which
involved persuading Alan to let me use the calculating machine. I am gradually getting fed
up with this place - thank God it is now less than 5 weeks till I leave this place. Richard
came along later and told me more about his plans for tomorrow - dammit, why do we have to
do this in the lab? I am decidedly worried about the safety aspect. Started refluxing
some toluene for Frank Bebbinton's
benefit, and then did little more until 1700 hrs. When I set off from work, my fanbelt
chewed itself into pieces, which was hardly the most pleasant occurrence, especially as I
could not get a replacement, and that I will have to just about take the engine apart to
replace it - looks like being more difficult to get at than the contact breakers. Furious,
home to wonder why I did not buy a Panhard
24 CT - certainly it seems a good idea, as about the only sacrifice I should have to
make would be carrying space - and I am no longer so worried about that. Read Stern and saw an Indian bloke (Mr. Menon), who was thinking
of renting the room, as Mrs. Garrad was not there.

Woke up this morning feeling like death warmed up, why, I do not know, though this sore
throat I have had for the last few days seems to be getting worse. In any case, decided it
would be imprudent to go to work, and so turned over, and, apart from a grunt to Mrs. Garrad
when she knocked on the door to see if I was awake, slept through, with a few rather wierd
dreams to 1300 hrs. I am not sure what significance, if any, dreams have, but I had a few
rather frighteningly realistic ones - waiting for Dad in the Dog, while he (supposedly) went off in the Old Grey Mare to look for
some stuff for my throat, and then he coming back to look for Dato Rajasooria, and at the
same time voicing his opinion that Bev be pregnant
by Sonny. Woke up shortly after that, and
decided that I felt well enough to stay awake for a while, and so dragged out „Ein Tierarzt
hat viele Freunde“, which I read about a year ago, and which I considered worth a second
reading - perhaps it reflects my lonliness at this stage. If only I could get hold of a
bird ...

It wasn't for lack of opportunity.

how often have I said that in the last couple of years, ever since I was through
with Jenny. And yet, I could not have gone on
with Jenny - looking back to my diary of June 1967 shows that clearly enough. I was in love, sure, but it takes 2 to make a love affair. I
wonder why Lesley has left the Heritage
... has she gone elsewhere, has she given it up as a bad job, or what? Perhaps I should
contact her mother and find out what is going on. Read on about the vet, then back to
sleep, and woke round sundown feeling somewhat better - it is distressing how the length of
the day keeps changing, a good 1½ hours a month at present.

In fact, from 1 April to 1 May it's 1 hour, 53 minutes. At the time where I started
noticing this sort of thing, I was living
in Kuala Lumpur, where the total
length of the day changes by less than 20 minutes over the year. I still can't get used
to the swings of day length round the equinoxes in temperate climates.

By sundown it is already 2030, and I can imagine what it will be like in late June...

Of course, I could also remember, since it wasn't the first time I spent the summer
solstice in England.

Had some makan, though my appetite has largely disappeared, and then heard Mrs. Garrad say
why she did not want an Indian. Afterwards up to read more about
the Panhard 24 CT. I am fairly dead
set on buying one.